Munkurumbara yaNairobi yaviviyauka ngudu,ure ngudu nalipakerombiri liparu lyakumundi,mwa tungire mbunga yavamati va piliro uturo ndi mandi. Vavo kava tamburanga kehe liyuva momo kali yanga. Ngurangura yimwe,vamati vavo kuna kurongera matjaro ghavo munyima yakurara kudimukindiro dashitaura datendiro.Mukurenka ashi va kangumuke wangu ava vankeda mundiro navihando. Mukatji kavamati vanya mwa kalire Magozwe. Ndje a kaliro po wa mwanuke.
In the busy city of Nairobi, far away from a caring life at home, lived a group of homeless boys. They welcomed each day just as it came.
On one morning, the boys were packing their mats after sleeping on cold pavements. To chase away the cold they lit a fire with rubbish.
Among the group of boys was Magozwe. He was the youngest.
Opo va dohorokire vakurona vaMagozwe,uye kwa kalire namwaka ntano tupu. A yendi a katunge nankwirikwendi. Mukafumu uno kapi kapakeranga mbiri mwanuke uno. Kapi kapanga Magozwe ndya dakugwanena. Ka rughanitanga mumatighona uno virughana vyaudito ngudu.
When Magozwe’s parents died, he was only five years old. He went to live with his uncle. This man did not care about the child. He did not give Magozwe enough food. He made the boy do a lot of hard work.
Magozwe nange a shivana ndi a pure ko nkwirikwendi kumu toghona. Opo a pulire Magozwe ashi kuvhura a yende kushure,nkwirikwendi a mutoghona okuno uye kuna kughamba ashi,”Ove kundereko ndunge mukuvhura kukushonga kehe vino.” Munyima yamwaka ntatu darukisho Magozwe a tjwayuka mo mumundi wankwirikwendi. A vareke kutunga mushitarata.
If Magozwe complained or questioned, his uncle beat him. When Magozwe asked if he could go to school, his uncle beat him and said, “You’re too stupid to learn anything.”
After three years of this treatment Magozwe ran away from his uncle. He started living on the street.
Liparu lyamushitarata kwa ditopire ntani shingi shavamati kava kondjanga keheyuva va wane tupu ndya. Virugho vimwe kava va kwatanga vaporoshi, ano virugho vimwe kava va toghonanga. Opo kava veranga,kundereko ogho kavhurango kuva vatera. Mbunga yino kwa huguvarelire tupu patuliva kava wananga mukurombaghera namukughulita vinayirona navimwe vyakuvhura kurughanita rukando rwa kupitakana parumwe. Liparu kwa ditopire nka unene mukondashi kava rwananga nambunga dimwe odo da shanino kupangera maruha ghamwe ghashitata.
Street life was difficult and most of the boys struggled daily just to get food. Sometimes they were arrested, sometimes they were beaten. When they were sick, there was no one to help.
The group depended on the little money they got from begging, and from selling plastics and other recycling.
Life was even more difficult because of fights with rival groups who wanted control of parts of the city.
Liyuva limwe Magozwe uye kuna kuyundja-yundja mumandoromani ghavihando, a wana mo mbapira yakukurupa yavitimwitira. A kukumuna ko rudiro makura ayi tura muntjako yendi. Keheyuva kutunda shirugho shinya ka upanga mbapira mposhi a kenge mafano. Ghuye kapi a yivire kuvarura nkango dakaliro mo.
One day while Magozwe was looking through the dustbins, he found an old tattered storybook. He cleaned the dirt from it and put it in his sack.
Every day after that he would take out the book and look at the pictures. He did not know how to read the words.
Mafano gha mumbapira yinya kwa timwitilire shitimwitira shakuhamena mumati a kuliro nalirwameno ashi nga kakare mushingi ndira. Magozwe nampiri pakurara mwi karotanga ashi naye nga kakare mushingi ndira.Virugho vimwe ka kughayaranga ashi ndje unya mumati wamushitimwitira shinya.
The pictures told the story of a boy who grew up to be a pilot.
Magozwe would daydream of being a pilot. Sometimes, he imagined that he was the boy in the story.
Kwa kalire utenda ngudu ano Magozwe uye kwa yimanine kushitaura okuno uye kuna kukushenga. Mukafumu umwe a yendi opo a yimanine. “Moro,ame Thomas. Kwa rughanenanga pepi napa,kulivango oko u kavhura kawana vyangandi vyakulya,” a ghamba mukafumu unya. A neghe ndjugho vapeyinda shighuhenga vatura vipereki vyashinaliwiru.”Na huguvara ashi kughu yenda pandjugho yinya u kawane ko tundya twa ngandi?”Magozwe a kenge mukafumu uno, ntani ana kenge nka kundjugho.”Walye,”a limburura,makura Magozwe a tundu po a kayende.
It was cold and Magozwe was standing on the road begging. A man walked up to him. “Hello, I’m Thomas. I work near here, at a place where you can get something to eat,” said the man.
He pointed to a yellow house with a blue roof. “I hope you will go there to get some food?” he asked.
Magozwe looked at the man, and then at the house. “Maybe,” he said, and walked away.
Mwedi dakukwama ko,vamati vapiliro mandi ava yiki ngoli kukenga-kenga Thomas palivango linya. Ghuye a holire kughamba navantu,unene po vantu ovo va tungiro muvitarata. Thomas ka teghereranga kuvitimwitira vyamaparu ghavantu. Ghuye ali tulire mo nka a kalire nalididimiko, a hana ukarodona ndi lipiro lifumadeko. Vamati vamwe ava vareke kuyenda kundjugho yinya yashighuhenga yavipereki vyashinaliwiru vaka havare ndya pamutwekashi.
Over the months that followed, the homeless boys got used to seeing Thomas around. He liked to talk to people, especially people living on the streets.
Thomas listened to the stories of people’s lives. He was serious and patient, never rude or disrespectful. Some of the boys started going to the yellow and blue house to get food at midday.
Magozwe kwa shungilire kudimukindiro dashitaura okuno uye kuna kukenga mafano mumbapira yendi yinya yamafano opo aya shungilire Thomas kunyonga yendi.”Vinke shina kutanta shitimwitira?” a pura Thomas.”Kwa timwitira kuhamena mumati ogho a rwamenino kukakara mushingi ndira,” a limburura Magozwe.”Are lidina lyendi ogho mumati?” a pura Thomas.”Kapi ni yiva,kapi na yiva kuvarura,” a limburura Magozwe naliywi lyakusheghumuka.
Magozwe was sitting on the pavement looking at his picture book when Thomas sat down next to him.
“What is the story about?” asked Thomas.
“It’s about a boy who becomes a pilot,” replied Magozwe.
“What’s the boy’s name?” asked Thomas.
“I don’t know, I can’t read,” said Magozwe quietly.
Opo va gwanekelire,Magozwe a vareke kutimwitira Thomas vyakuhamena liparu lyendi. Kwa kalire shitimwitira shakuhamena kwankwirikwendi ntani morwa nke a tjwayukilire. Thomas kapi a ghambire dadingi,ntani kapi a tantelire Magozwe ashi ndi vinke a vhura kurughana, ano ngoli uye kwa tegherelire nawa-nawa. Virugho vimwe kava timwitiranga okuno vavo kuna kulya mpopanya pandjugho yavipereki vyashinaliwiru.
When they met, Magozwe began to tell his own story to Thomas. It was the story of his uncle and why he ran away.
Thomas didn’t talk a lot, and he didn’t tell Magozwe what to do, but he always listened carefully.
Sometimes they would talk while they ate at the house with the blue roof.
Hambara tupu muligwanito lyaMagozwe lyamwaka murongo,Thomas amu pa mbapira yavitimwitira yayipe. Yayo kwa timwitira kuhamena mumati a kaliro mumukunda ogho a kuliro okuno uye mudani wabara yakutanga. Thomas a varwiri shitimwitira Magozwe vikando vyakukushuva-shuva,dogoro liyuva limwe a ghamba,”nakughayara shi shirugho shina tiki mposhi u yende kushure mposhi u kakushonge kuvarura. Ndi weni omo una kughayara?”Thomas a fwaturura ashi mpoliri livango a yiva kwa kuvhura kukara vanuke,okuno vavo kuna kuyimba shure.
Around Magozwe’s tenth birthday, Thomas gave him a new storybook. It was a story about a village boy who grew up to be a famous soccer player.
Thomas read that story to Magozwe many times, until one day he said, “I think it’s time you went to school and learned to read. What do you think?” Thomas explained that he knew of a place where children could stay, and go to school.
Magozwe a ghayara kuhamena livango lino lyalipe,ntani kuyenda kushure. Weni ngoli nange nkwirikwendi mughuhunga a kalire mukughamba ashi Magozwe munderemo ndunge mukuvhura kukushonga mposhi a kwate lighano ovyo ana kukushonga? Weni ngoli nange ngava kamu toghona kulivango lino lyalipe? A kalire naghoma.”Walye hasha tupu kutwikira kutunga mushitarata,” a ghayara.
Magozwe thought about this new place, and about going to school. What if his uncle was right and he was too stupid to learn anything?
What if they beat him at this new place? He was afraid. “Maybe it is better to stay living on the street,” he thought.
A timwitiri Thomas vyaghoma ogho a kalire nagho. Munyima yashirugho mukafumu uno a huguvalita mumati uno ashi liparu ngali kara hasha ko kulivango lino lyalipe.
He shared his fears with Thomas. Over time the man reassured the boy that life could be better at the new place.
Makura Magozwe a yendi munkonda yakaliro mundjugho yavipereki vyashinamahako. Munkonda yino uye kwa kalire mo ngoli navamati vaviri. Muku va pakerera navantje kwa kalire vanuke murongo va tungiro pandjugho yinya. Kumwe namugholikadi Cissy nanturaumbo yendi,mbwa ntatu,mbishi nashimpendje shakukurupa.
And so Magozwe moved into a room in a house with a green roof. He shared the room with two other boys.
Altogether there were ten children living at that house. Along with Auntie Cissy and her husband, three dogs, a cat, and an old goat.
Magozwe a vareke shure ene ngoli yamuditopelire. Vyamu vhukilire vyakuvhura kukwata lighano. Virugho vimwe ka shananga kukutapa. Ene ngoli a ghayara mushingi ndira namudani bara mumbapira dinya davitimwitira. Yira mbo,naye kapi a kutapire.
Magozwe started school and it was difficult. He had a lot to catch up. Sometimes he wanted to give up.
But he thought about the pilot and the soccer player in the storybooks. Like them, he did not give up.
Magozwe kwa shungilire muliharango yakara ndjugho yinya yavipereki vyashinamahako,okuno kuna kuvarura mbapira yavitimwitira yakushure. Thomas aya makura aya shungiri kunyonga yendi.”Kunke sha hamena shitimwitira?” a pura Thomas.”Kuna hamene kumumati ogho a kaliro mitiri,” a limburura Magozwe.”Are lidina lyendi ogho mumati?” a pura nka Thomas.”Lidina lyendi ndje Magozwe, a ghamba Magozwe nakumenyamenya.
Magozwe was sitting in the yard at the house with the green roof, reading a storybook from school. Thomas came up and sat next to him.
“What is the story about?” asked Thomas.
“It’s about a boy who becomes a teacher,” replied Magozwe.
“What’s the boy’s name?” asked Thomas.
“His name is Magozwe,” said Magozwe with a smile.
